NPS in the Spotlight: StudySync Highlights Year One Success
NPS in the Spotlight: StudySync Highlights Year One Success
NPS Communications
Norwalk Public Schools is celebrating a strong first year of implementing a new, districtwide middle school English Language Arts curriculum, one that is already making a meaningful impact on teaching and learning.
At the start of the school year, NPS introduced StudySync across its five middle schools. The curriculum was carefully selected to meet the demands of rigorous, standards-aligned literacy instruction while also fostering student engagement, meaningful discussion, writing development, and equitable access to complex texts for all learners.
The new curriculum marked an important change in the district’s approach to literacy instruction. Previously, NPS was using a homegrown curriculum. StudySync is a more structured and robust curriculum that is grounded in the district’s Literacy Vision.
“StudySync helps middle schools carry out the NPS Literacy Vision by providing all students with consistent access to complex, diverse texts, structured discourse, and standards-aligned reading and writing tasks,” said Dani Brown, education administrator for humanities for Norwalk Public Schools. “Its routines support our core beliefs that literacy grows through purposeful practice, equitable access to grade-level instruction, and daily opportunities for students to think critically, collaborate, and communicate as readers, writers, and speakers.”
Following a successful first year, StudySync recognized the district’s work by featuring Norwalk Public Schools in its own national blog, highlighting the implementation at Nathan Hale Middle School. The feature includes perspectives from Principal James Crouch, Literacy Coach Natalie Ellwanger, multilingual learning teacher Melissa Pelaez, and English/Language Arts teacher Christy Counts. Each person offered insight into how the curriculum has strengthened instruction and supported student growth.
Brown praised the Nathan Hale team for their leadership and dedication during the curriculum transition.
“Rising to the occasion of adopting a new curriculum and finding ways to strengthen instruction to benefit our students and staff is no small task,” she said. “I am so incredibly humbled to get to share this literacy space with you as we continue to find ways to help our students thrive.”
Across the district, classrooms have come alive with creative and engaging projects that showcase the impact of StudySync. Events like the Spooky Story Showcase and Unsung Heroes Night gave students opportunities to apply their reading and writing skills, share their work with an audience, and celebrate their learning in meaningful ways.
Read how NPS brought literacy to life in their first year with StudySync.
About StudySync
StudySync creates and publishes award-winning educational curriculum for schools in English language arts, ELL, social studies and science.
While leveraging technology and media to engage and inspire students in their academic pursuits, StudySync provides educators with an easy-to-use platform to deliver adaptable and interactive learning solutions.
NPS Literacy Vision
At Norwalk Public Schools, we believe that literacy is the foundation for lifelong learning and success.
Across all classrooms, we build readers, writers, communicators, collaborators, and critical
thinkers prepared to meet the demands of college, career, and life in order to access opportunities
that promote economic mobility. We strive to engage all of our families and students, including
multilingual learners and students with thinking and learning differences, as productive, literate
citizens of the world